Escape from Tarkov players outraged over new $250 edition featuring PvE mode

by Danny Craig  · 
Escape from Tarkov players outraged over new $250 edition featuring PvE mode
Battlestate Games

Battlestate Games has announced "The Unheard Edition" of Escape From Tarkov, which includes an exclusive PvE mode and bonus content that fans have labeled "pay-to-win," prompting widespread criticism.

The details:

  • The new bundle, which costs $250, includes a long-awaited PvE co-op mode in which player progress is not reset by the game's frequent "wipes," as well as increased storage, upgraded starting skills, and a higher default Fence standing, which makes some AI friendly to the player.

  • Aside from the high price tag, players have slated Battlestate as the now-delisted "Edge of Darkness" edition of EFT included a season pass that promised all future DLC content for free, but the PvE mode remains exclusive to the new bundle. “It ain’t DLC, it’s [a] unique feature of the new edition added,” community manager Daniel Mavlyuberdinov said on the game’s Discord server (via Forbes). “DLC means additional downloadable content. PvE is a feature and a game mode. Just because you all want it to become a DLC it wouldn’t mean it is one. It’s a featured game mode for the new edition of the game.”

  • In response to the backlash, the developer has now offered EOD owners several upgrades, as well as six months of temporary access to the PvE mode and priority matchmaking. As expected, the player base has called out Battlestate for essentially offering similar pay-to-win content as a solution, despite many opposing it.

  • EFT has long been plagued by not only poor performance but also cheating, with some players abandoning the game altogether until stronger action is taken against the offenders. Due to the widespread issue, fans have requested the addition of offline play against the game's AI, leading to community mods that implement the mode.

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